The fifth annual Wicket and Stick It croquet tournament will take over a patch of lawn in Cherry Creek on Friday, and James Creasey will be calling the shots.

“I am the favorite referee,” Creasey said. “People say, ‘Oh, look, he’s got the whole English thing’ — but I think people believe … a British accent more than an American one.”

The British expatriate has been the tournament’s chief referee since it began.

“I love the spirited fun of the evening. It gets pretty darn competitive as we get into the quarterfinals and semifinals,” said Creasey, his voice brazen with nostalgia. “There are awards for things like best-dressed, hat and costume. You get people looking like ‘Alice in Wonderland’ or ‘The Great Gatsby.’ ”

Yet the tournament is more than just a costume ball or social event to Creasey. After his father was diagnosed with Alzheimer’s, Creasey sought out something that would work as a equalizer. And so croquet started as a test.

“(Croquet) was something we could do together,” Creasey said of his late father. “It wasn’t too complicated or loud or fast.”

Croquet became a father-and-son conversation. And thereafter it became a true passion.

Creasey sees it as fate. Stepping on the field is his way of giving back: “I felt like I had found a game that had been waiting for me to show up.”